The Spirit of Yoga Shines at Yoga Day Festival YOGA DAY FESTIVAL | www.yogadayfestival.com.au | asmy.org.au

The sun was rising over the crystal clear Gold Coast ocean as enthusiastic volunteers began setting up the first of a relay of festivals taking place across the nation. There were tepees, brightly coloured flags, flowers, bohemian decorations, and sacred sounds resonating throughout the atmosphere.

With the yoga lifestyle becoming a rapidly growing trend, widely accepted and adopted across many cultures, it’s any wonder the world loves to celebrate United Nations World Yoga Day. Wanting to offer a celebration that truly embodied the spirit of yoga, the team at the Australian School of Meditation & Yoga (ASMY) put their passion into action and Yoga Day Festival was born. Now in its 4th year, Yoga Day Festival has become one of Australia’s brightest, fastest growing, icon yoga festivals.

Stunning locations, village like set-ups, generous pops of colour and a broad variety of yoga lifestyle experiences are the foundational assets that give people an immersive experience. Yoga Dance, Kirtan, Yoga Teacher Training workshops, Kids yoga areas, drumming workshops, educational seminars, and of course a variety of asana and meditation classes made up the bulk of the program.

The community collaboration of gifted local teachers, talented musicians and a variety of lifestyle coaches all coming together with the intention of sharing their gifts and talents made for a heart- warming example of why yoga is such an asset to our community. Participants were able to experience not only the benefits of each modality on offer, but also the spirit of yoga – the unconditional giving and receiving; joy; love; peace; and happiness that naturally grow in those who live the yoga lifestyle.

A special feature of the festivals, and a highlight for many, was the kirtan – a sacred music experience that allowed everyone to come together and share their voices, singing sacred mantras. The joy, happiness and pure fun was evident as everyone swayed, clapped, danced and sang.

Two of the featured chant artists were Pralad and the Chants (https://www.praladandthechants.com/) and Ashraya (http://ashraya.band/) Madya Lila, lead singer from Ashraya describes the impact that kirtan has, “If you have not experienced kirtan before it is a must. Kirtan transports you to a world of inspiration, peace and joy, far beyond the stress and worries of life. Kirtan nourishes the soul’s deepest needs by reawakening the spiritual love that exists within our hearts and enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.”

Radha Krishna Das explains the vision of the Yoga Day Festival team as follows, “The collective idea and ongoing mission of our Yoga Day Festival team is to be of service to humanity by offering the transforming and life enhancing gifts of the yoga lifestyle to the broader community. An increasing number of people want a lifestyle that supports them in achieving overall well-being physically, mentally and spiritually. And because this is exactly what yoga offers, we find that people are naturally attracted to it and are interested in its practice and applying its principles and techniques to their lives. Hence why an event like YDF is such a hit – it offers people an immersive experience of what it might feel like to really embrace yoga in its complete sense.”